Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL stock news items for Tuesday:
Apple Wins Patent Complaint Against HTC: The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled on Monday that HTC’s smartphones infringe on a patent held by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). As a result, HTC has been banned from selling its phones in the U.S. The ban will go into effect on April 19. Apple originally filed a complaint against HTC in March 2010, and while the ITC ruled in favor of Apple at that time, an HTC appeal of the ruling dragged out the proceedings for another year. HTC isn’t terribly concerned. A representative told Boy Genius Report that it already has alternative technology for its phones that will not violate Apple patent 647. If any company should be concerned, it’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), as Apple likely will use this ruling to target other manufacturers that, like HTC, use the Android operating system.
Apple to Pay Out “Significant” Dividend in 2012: Laying down the money for shares in Apple is an increasingly intimidating prospect for investors. Even options on the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s stock are costly. Apple’s $400 stock is looking increasingly like a value, however, as rumors that the company will begin paying out a dividend next year continue to pick up steam. A Monday evening report in Bloomberg said that Gamco Investors Inc. money manager Howard Ward is expecting Apple to issue a “significant” dividend sometime in early 2012. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Ward said Apple, which is holding $81.6 billion in cash and investments, “could easily be a 3% dividend-yielding stock or even higher.” Ward’s words follow International Strategy & Investment Group analyst Brian Marshall’s November note that said Apple likely would issue a dividend of $2.40 per quarter starting next year — a yield of just 2.5% on share prices around that time, about $384.
Apple Finalizes $500 Million Acquisition of Anobit: Financial daily Calcalist reported Tuesday that Apple has acquired Israeli flash memory technology company Anobit for between $400 and $500 million. Rumors swirled on Dec. 13 that Apple was planning to purchase the company for an undisclosed amount within that price range. Control of a flash memory company should help ease operating costs for the company considering Apple currently accounts for 50% of worldwide flash memory purchases. A Fox Business report on the acquisition said Apple plans to open a development center in Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Apple to his country via a Twitter message Tuesday morning after news of the acquisition broke.
Nokia to Discuss Windows Phones at January Event: Nearly one year after it announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nokia (NYSE:NOK) finally is ready to reveal its latest plans to compete with Apple and others for the U.S. smartphone market. The Finnish phone maker will hold an event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 9, when the company is expected to announced release plans for the Lumia Windows phones. Among the phones that will be announced for the U.S. is the Lumia 900 model, which is expected to be a 4G device exclusive to AT&T (NYSE:T). The lower-tier Lumia 800 model is said to be in testing at both AT&T and Verizon (NYSE:VZ).
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook. For more from the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
